Uncrewed: Ameriflight to use drones for cargo delivery

MIAMI — Cargo airline Ameriflight has signed a letter of intent to purchase 35 vertical takeoff and landing air cargo drones from manufacturer Sabrewing Aircraft . [caption id="attachment_57136561" align="alignright" width="300"] Sabrewing Rhaegal-A autonomous cargo aircraft (Photo/Ameriflight)[/caption] The agreement for the Rhaegal-A aircraft, also known as Alpha, will enable Ameriflight to carry more than 1 tonne of cargo to off-airport landing zones. “We’re cargo and cargo’s going to move well before passengers in the autonomous world,” Ameriflight President and Chief Executive Alan Rusinowitz said at the CNS Partnership Conference on Tuesday. Ameriflight plans to develop 53 acres at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) that will include a drone-operation area, he said. With more than 3,000 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and within reach of DFW, drone delivery could be the future; current deliveries are made by helicopter, which is expensive, and boat, which is slow. Air cargo uncrewed Another advantage of drones, according to Sabrewing Chief Executive Ed De Reyes , is that they are uncrewed, which is less dangerous to people and less susceptible to human error. [caption id="attachment_57136560" align="alignright" width="300"] From left are Ameriflight President and Chief Executive Alan Rusinowitz, Sabrewing Chief Executive Ed De Reyes, and DFW Vice President of Innovation Paul Puopolo. (Photo/Yael Katzwer)[/caption] “This is the ability to fly an aircraft without having a pilot on board or any type of people on board,” De Reyes said at the conference. “One of the questions that I get asked is ‘When will this become a reality? When can we see drones flying in the national airspace?’ In actuality there are [military] drones flying right now in the national airspace. As a matter of fact, they have been for the last 30 years.” He added that drones are becoming larger as technology advances. The Rhaegal offers all-weather operation with vertical landing and takeoff (VTOL) capabilities. It carries a VTOL payload of up to 2,455 kilograms over a distance of 1,850 kilometers with a cruising speed of 370 kph. The Rhaegal-A can use sustainable aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80%. Ameriflight lands FAA exemption Ameriflight also signed an agreement in January with manufacturer Natilus to purchase its Kona aircraft, a short-haul feeder uncrewed drone with a payload capacity of 3.4 tonnes. And last week, Ameriflight received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate drones, making Ameriflight the largest existing Part 135 cargo airline to receive such exemption. The company has approval to add the Matternet M2 to its fleet, enabling it to start a large-scale drone operation in the United States. With drones from urban drone delivery system developer Matternet, Ameriflight plans to focus on health care and e-commerce deliveries to customers in dense urban and suburban environments. “Moving forward with the future of our newly operative UAS division allows us to expand into a largely untapped delivery market with a lot of room for speed and safety logistic improvements,” Ameriflight owner and Chair Jim Martell said in a release. The future of flight Drones can be more reliable than traditional air transport, De Reyes said. “My wife and I actually had a cargo airline for several years,” he said. “Many times, the weather was horrific, I’m on my third missed approach, getting ready to just give up the ghost, thinking, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this.’ So Sabrewing was really born of that.” Rusinowitz said he expects air cargo to increasingly use drones, especially amid the worldwide pilot shortage. Businesses need to embrace new technology to meet customer demand and to remain competitive, he said. Join Air Cargo Next for the upcoming webinar , “What’s new in digital cargo systems,” on Tuesday, June 13, at 11 a.m. ET. F or more information on the webinar and to register, click here.

Uncrewed: Ameriflight to use drones for cargo delivery

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